Custom filters
Let visitors choose what matters before they choose where.
Turn location categories into visitor-facing filters for products, services, store types, certifications or amenities. Keep a small set visible or place larger groups in compact dropdowns.
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What this changes for the visitor and the team.
- 01
Model choices in the visitor's language.
Group related categories under public labels such as Store type, Services, Product range or Accessibility rather than exposing an internal data model.
- 02
Choose broad or precise matching.
Match any selected option for discovery, or require every selection when the visitor is building a specific combination.
- 03
Keep large filter sets readable.
Use inline controls for a small set, dropdowns for larger groups and optional counts to show the effect of each choice before it is selected.
How it works
What the visitor sees and what you control.
Categories first, filters second
Filters are built from the categories on your locations. Create them under Categories with concise public names, then put related ones into groups such as Store type, Services or Amenities. Each group renders as its own labelled filter section, in the order you set, instead of one long undifferentiated list. A category's stable source value can stay the same for a spreadsheet sync while its public name is written for visitors, and categories without a group can be offered as filters or left out.
How matching works
Match any returns a location carrying at least one selected choice, which suits discovery. Match all requires every selected choice and narrows faster, which suits a visitor who needs one stockist carrying several product lines. Counts beside each option show how many locations it would match before it is picked. Group headings help when there are several groups and can be switched off when there is only one. The map can refit to the locations that remain after each change, and the Open now filter combines with any category selection.
Where filters sit
Filters can sit in the top toolbar, directly above the results, or be hidden when the surrounding page owns the choice. Their placement is independent of the search box, so search can stay over the map while filters stay with the list. Dropdowns keep a large set compact; inline checkboxes expose a short set at once. On result cards, tags can be grouped under their group name, so Retail under Location type is not confused with Retail under Product.
Colours and icons that carry meaning to the map
Each category can have a colour and an icon, picked from built-in icons such as store, coffee, wrench and warehouse or uploaded as a small SVG or PNG. With marker colour set to follow tags, the pin takes the colour of the first category in your order, the icon renders inside the pin, and the same icon appears beside the tag on cards and in the filter. A location still has one marker however many categories it carries, so map icons suit a trait each place has exactly one of.
Filters set from outside the widget
A link can open the locator already filtered with loc_tags in its URL. A product page can call setFilters from its own script with tag names, slugs or ids, and the call reports which ones matched so a typo is visible rather than silent. An embed can be locked to a subset with data-tags, and a locked subset cannot be widened by setFilters or clearFilters. Analytics lists the filters visitors most often had active, which is a sensible order for your groups.
Workflow
From configuration to a checked public result.
- 1
Create concise categories for facts visitors genuinely use to narrow the network.
- 2
Group related choices, set their public labels and assign them manually or during import and sync.
- 3
Choose display and matching behavior, then test locations with several categories and with none.
Included capability
- Multiple independently labelled filter groups
- Inline and dropdown presentation
- Match-any and match-all behavior
- Counts beside available choices
- Category colors and icons on results and map markers
- Open-now filtering alongside custom categories
The boundary
Filters describe the location records you supply; Handled does not infer product availability or live inventory. If availability changes in a source system, update it through the dashboard, CSV or Google Sheets workflow.
Continue with the task documentation.
Before you choose
Questions buyers ask about this feature.
- What can a custom filter represent?
- A category can represent a product, service, store type, accreditation, amenity or another stable fact attached to a location.
- Can filters be grouped?
- Yes. Related choices can have separate public group labels and appear as independent sections or dropdowns.
- Does Handled synchronize live inventory?
- Filters use the location data managed in Handled, CSV, Google Sheets or the Location API. There is no live inventory connector that keeps availability synchronized automatically.
- Can a product page show only the stockists that carry that product?
- Yes. Add data-tags to the embed on that page and it shows only locations carrying those tags, or call setFilters from the page's own script when the visitor should still be able to clear the filter.
- Can categories come in with a CSV import?
- Yes. Map a categories column during import. Values that match an existing category by name are assigned to it, and unknown values are shown for review rather than quietly creating a new list.
Try the feature against your own location list.
Start with representative data, test the real visitor journey and keep the locator only if it handles the job your website needs.